Multilayer structural materials employing an outer layer of glass are a popular structural material. The inner face of the glass pane is quite often painted or the glass tinted in order to give the glass panel a desired appearance, including polished marble, mosaic tiles, engraved metal, etc.
Glass composite panels are used in a variety of architectural applications, both internally and externally to the structure. Glass composite panels may be used on walls to form shower/bathtub enclosures, on walls in elevator cabs, or on external walls as spandrels, which cover the gaps between floors on the exterior of office buildings that have glass exteriors.
There are numerous composite structural materials known in the prior art, including many made from plastics and metal. However all of the glass composite panel structures in the prior art exhibit one drawback or another, including excessive weight, high manufacturing costs, or the need for mounting brackets that clamp around the edge of the glass composite panel and which are therefore visible from the outside.
There is therefore a need for a multilayer glass composite panel that is light in weight, yet strong and resistant to shock.
There is a further need for a glass composite panel that is simple and inexpensive to fabricate.
There is a still further need for a glass composite panel that may be mounted to a wall or other structure by mounting brackets that are not visible on the exterior of the glass composite panels and which may be attached to the panels in a variety of ways.